KTM Wins Dakar Rally with Toby Price

Dakar Rally ended last Saturday with the top two spots clinched by Team Red Bull KTM Factory. Toby Price was declared the winner and his teammate, Stefan Svitko secured the runner-up position. Price is the first Australian ever to win the rally, he had secured the third position last year. This is the 15th win for KTM in Dakar Rally. Price covered more than 9,000 kilometers in 48 hours, nine minutes and 15 seconds, leading the runner-up by a margin of 39 minutes 41 seconds. The third spot was secured by Pablo Quintanilla of Chile. The Australian came out strong despite extreme weather conditions ranging from thunderstorms and flooding to intense temperatures. He won 5th and 6th stage followed by stages 8 and 9 to reach the top.

Speaking on the win, Toby Price said, “Winning in my second participation is awesome, but being the first Australian to win the Dakar is just insane. I would’ve never imagined this two years ago. Finishing the rally is already a triumph. Winning it is amazing! I tackled the race in true Aussie style. I attacked when I had to, when the time was right, and I kept an eye on my bike during the all-important marathon stages. I also navigated quite well. I hope this is just the start, to win again. It won’t be easy, so I’ve got to savour this victory.”

Alex Doringer, Factory Team Manager, said, “I could see Toby was a top guy with potential and good navigation skills. He did an amazing job and I am very happy for him. When I brought him into the team I was very happy to do something for my old friend Kurt Caselli. He was the one who encouraged me to try to get Toby to the Dakar and today we see the result.” He added, “We are also super happy to have one of our customer bikes on the podium and this is what we work for.”



The results of 2016 Dakar Rally were very impressive for the Austrian bike manufacturer. It got 5 team members in top 10 and 12 of the top 20 finishers. Here are the final results of the event:

1. Toby Price, KTM (AUS) - 48:09:15

2. Stefan Svitko, KTM (SVK) - 48:48:56

3. Pablo Quintanilla, Husqvarna (CHL) - 48:58:03

4. Kevin Benavides, Honda (ARG) - 49:04:02

5. Helder Rodrigues, Yamaha (PRT) - 49:04:59

6. Adrien van Beveren, Yamaha (FRA) - 49:55:44

7. Antoine Meo, KTM (FRA) - 50:06:02

8. Gerard Farres Guell, KTM (ESP) - 50:10:15

9. Ricky Brabec, Honda (USA) - 50:20:42

10. Armand Monleon, KTM (ESP) - 51:37:04

Final Stage Results (Stage 13):

1. Quintanilla - 1 hour 51 minutes 27 seconds

2. Benavides - + 1.41

3. Rodrigues - + 2.37

4. Price - + 4.22

5. Svitko - + 6.24

Also Read: CS Santosh: India's Rally Champ Gets Ready for Dakar 2016